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The Northeast is being pummeled by storms again. Sheesh. It rained all day yesterday, and the winds picked up horribly at night. I heard they reached 85mph in some areas! I was woken up around 11pm last night by the wind, and looked outside and right then, the sky flashed bright green. Petrified that an electrical surge would happen (and somehow affect my fish tank and kill my lil betta), I unplugged just about everything in my room.

This morning I discovered that green lightning isn’t lightning at all. Rather, it’s the light from power lines shorting out with the ground as they fell and the flashes were being reflected off the wet ground into the rain of the storm and diffused (from here). Now I’m REALLY glad I unplugged things!

So it was either that, or the dark lord is among us.

This morning was a bit different. Even though today’s forecast calls for more rain/snow/wind, there was a beautiful sunrise, and the sunshine was strong for a long time. Quite a calm before the storm. But they sky is greying once again. Boo. (Holy crap it just started pouring out of nowhere)

We’re in for a whole weekend of rain and snow, so it looks like my last long run will be done indoors. Then again this is New England, so the forecast could do a 180.

Discount Shopping yaaaay

Who doesn’t love a good discount? I’ve recently discovered the wonders of private shopping sites, where you have to be invited in to be able to shop. I was able to get in to a few, and I’d like to share the sites with all of you too :)

Each brand is only available for a limited time, so they’re sort of evil if you’re an impulse buyer. But they’re also great to keep an eye on in case something you’ve been wanting for a while is on sale (i.e. the other day RueLaLa had a bunch of Cuisinart things on sale for a huge discount).

Our precious hamstrings… runners leave them neglected so often. Actually it’s not just runners, it’s almost everyone! We spend just about every minute of every day moving forward or sitting down. Maybe it’s time we all move backwards. Metaphorically speaking, this sounds like a bad idea ;) But without strengthening our hamstrings and adductors (aka inner thighs), we’re doomed to leave our knees with a life of pain. When I’m sitting, my kneecaps actually pull a bit outwards since my quads are so much stronger than the rest of my thighs.

Of course, there are weight machines at the gym that can strengthen these muscles. But that can get boring. Why not do some things that’ll spice up the gym atmosphere and make people look at you like “what the frick is wrong with her/him?”

The Backwards Treadmill

Sure, you can walk backwards outside. But if you’re like me you’d probably trip on a bump in the sidewalk and fall. Solution: walk backwards on the treadmill! You can also use an elliptical in reverse, but this just sounds so much more fun. Start up the treadmill, turn up the incline (you want to get the most impact, right?), and just start walking! It’ll focus in on your hamstrings in ways you’ve hardly used them before.

Chassé! Chassé!

Adductors aka inner thighs aka the place almost all women hate most; 20 reps on the leg press will do something… but much like other weight machines they aren’t much fun. Again, turn to the trusty treadmill! Face sideways and “gallop” at a decent speed. If you’ve ever done ballet before, it’d be like treadmill chassé. (video on how to do a chassé here)

Wait, the treadmill is fun now?

Maybe. Kinda. It’s something different, that’s for sure. And the looks people give you might make it worth it too.

Give it a shot the next time you’re at the gym! Maybe others will catch on and you’ll be a trendsetter ;)

Yes, I skipped Motivational Monday today. No, I’m not proud. In my defense, I went on a Red Sox pub crawl this weekend, so I didn’t have a whole lot of time to research today’s motivational figure ;)

ahhh I'm floating

This week is the start of my pre-race taper. I had my final long run scheduled for yesterday, but some IT band problems delayed that (indefinitely?). Unf. It’s RICE time for me and my knee.

However, I was able to drag my butt out of bed at 4:45 this morning to do a 3.5 miler on the elliptical. It’s no running/treadmill, but I’m still moving. I’m afraid to push myself because I don’t want to be hurt on race day. I know I won’t have a spectacular finishing time, but I want to complete this running. I’m sticking with 3-4 milers this week, a 6 miler this weekend, then 2-3 milers next week. Then… 13.1! GAH! I’ve completed 10 miles, so I’m not too concerned about not having done the 12 miles. It’s not my ideal scenario, but I can make it work.

Tonight I’m going to the first in a series of free running seminars in the area, and fortunately this one is about injuries and how to prevent and deal with them. The speaker is a physical therapist, so I’m hoping she’ll be able to give me a few pointers on rushing along this IT band stuff. Saying “shoo, go away!” isn’t working as well as I’d hoped.

On Friday night I found out about the Wayland Winter Farmers Market, and decided that I 100% had to go the next morning when it was open. My life has been devoid of farmers markets since November. Tough life, right? But I truly missed them.

This particular market was inside the greenhouses of a garden center, so it was nice and toasty warm in there. What the market lacked in fresh produce (I mean, there’s only so much you can harvest in New England in the winter) it made up for in some fantastic pre-made products. I’m talking 9-veggie salsa, homemade hummus and pita, fresh sweet potato gnocchi… so glorious. Just look at these watermelon radishes:

They were also having “Wool Day” that day. My mom is an avid knitter, so she was in love with all the homespun wool yarn/scarves/socks. Needless to say, she loves farmers markets now, too.

A Bit o’ Running

Sunday was a busy day for me, so I had to do my long run in the morning. I also wasn’t feeling super, so I decided to go on the treadmill so I could stop at any time and not be stranded in sub-freezing temperatures.

Holy. Moly. The gym was crowded. Every treadmill was taken, and almost every elliptical was taken. Wooo looks like I’m doing my long run on an elliptical.

Distance: 8 miles

Time: 1:11:52

A great time, but I didn’t feel that great about the run itself. I’m itching to be back on the road, but both coldness and illness is stopping me.

ONE

Yesterday’s double header was fan-freakin’-tastic! Well, aside from the 4:45am wake up call. I had an 8 mile tempo run scheduled for mid-week, but with my commute I don’t have the time for that… nor do I have the patience to do 8 miles indoors all at once. I broke the tempo up into 4 miles in the morning and 4 miles at night. I also chose to do these on the elliptical since my ankle was nagging me a bit.

Tempo Part 1 (5:00 am)
Level 4
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 33:46

Tempo Part 2 (6:00 pm)
Level 4
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 33:20

What the frickety frick? I’ve never moved that fast for that duration. I don’t move that fast when I do speed work. If only I could translate my elliptical pace into running pace, all would be right with the world.

TWO

Since I’m staying a bit late at work tonight, I decided to get a few errands done before heading in to the office. I stopped by City Sports and tried on a pair of Vibram Five Fingers (I would have snapped a photo but the salesperson stayed right next to me and that would have been awkward turtles). Aside from a few issues getting my left foot in there, I have to say… they were pretty comfortable. The spreading of my toes was a bit weird to see in the shoes, but overall I felt very firm and grounded. I tried on a pair that were like slip-ons, but the KSOs seem to be the best for outdoors (there’s mesh on top, so it’s harder for dirt or pebbles to get in the shoes). Maybe there’s a pair of these in my future? I might try to get to Marathon Sports this week to do another fitting before buying any new shoes.

THREE

One of my friends won a Tiki Party at a pub near my office! (hence why I’m staying late, I’m working until that begins). A free buffet, drink specials, and some giveaways. Sounds like a good time! I’m excited to see some people I haven’t seen in a while :)